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Canadian activist visits Papuan prisoners in Jayapura

Canadian activist Jeremy Bally cycled through the US, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, NZ and Australia, before meeting Papuan prisoners in Jayapura.

Twitter photo: @flotilla2wp

A Canadian activist who has been cycling around the world to raise awareness about the West Papuan independence cause has met with Papuan prisoners in Jayapura, the capital of the Indonesian province of Papua.

After negotiating with the guards, Jeremy Bally was able to deliver postcards and a video message to Papuans incarcerated in Abepura prison.

After setting off from Canada in May, Mr Bally cycled through the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, NZ and Australia, where he ostensibly finished his ride.

But as he explained to Pacific Beat, he still had one more ride ahead of him.

"I arrived in Jayapura... I decided to ride a bicycle a very short distance in Abepura to the prison and one of the prisoners had organised with the guards that we would be able to get in," he said.

"I brought them some postcards that people I had met along my route had given me, just sort of expressing messages of support as well as an SD card with video on it...a video I'd been taking of people giving messages of support.

"Then I got out safely," he said.

Mr Bally says he ended up meeting more prisoners than he had anticipated.

"There is a lot of them (prisoners) there, I was sort of maybe expecting to see one if I would actually meet any of them, but it ended up being a pretty open meeting," he said.

He says he received a positive reception from the prisoners.

"It was really good, the campaign is actually pretty well known in Papua, we did some media later in the day and we were sort of out on the streets, a lot of people recognised me and it was the same thing for the prisoners," he said.

"They had been following the campaign and had seen me doing presentations and riding my bike and whatever with pictures I'd posted and they were just really really encouraging and I guess were quite proud to share that moment with me."

Mr Bally says he wasn't sure what sort of reception he'd receive upon arriving in the province and whether he'd be granted access to the prison.

"It was kind of weird, I had made all these plans if I was arrested," he said.

"It was fine and I think it was because one of the prisoners had organised with the guards there that I was going to be coming and some of the guards there they kind of like have twin loyalties to their job, but also to Papua because they are Papuans.

"They organised that I would come at a time when the head of the prison wasn't there.

"I was also there with some allies who sort of knew what timing would work so I was essentially allowed to just sort of stroll in the prison," he said.

Mr Bally says his visit was potentially dangerous.

"Yeah it was dangerous, we'd all sort of been prepared for the eventuality of me getting at the very least deported but at the worst arrested and kept there for a while," he said.

"There was sort of a small chance that I would have been hurt somehow, but that was sort of a small possibility.

"We were all really surprised that it sort of went as well it did."

Mr Bally says he hopes his visit has raised awareness of the West Papuan issue.

"These prisoners are able to sort of get the message of solidarity from the people I've met along my route because I was able to deliver it straight to them," he said.

"I think that sort of using the nature of this action as having been sort of quite dangerous - even though nothing ended up happening - it creates just a little bit more media buzz.

"The nature of the campaign ...is about attaching sort of interesting themes and storylines to the story of West Papua which has had such a hard time breaking the ice with media.

"So certainly yes it is my hope that having taken this risk and done this action that it will raise the profile."